Holmes Swain Allen - The Holy Spirit

PRAISE FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

With its scriptural alertness, its generous appropriation of elements of classical Christian thought, and its dogmatic intelligence and scope, this is a rewarding study of the lordly and life-giving Spirit.

John Webster,Professor of Divinity, St Marys College, University of St Andrews

This is a thorough and novel approach to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, which takes an historical approach to dogmatic questions while still making normative judgments. Especially welcome is its attention to the Spirits priestly work as centered in the cross of Christ, a topic often neglected. This is a worthy contribution that enriches our understanding of the Holy Spirits person and work by upholding the centrality of Christ.

George Hunsinger,Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

One of the churchs best young theologians, Chris Holmes, takes us into some deep theological waters. We could have no better guide than Holmes. In this masterful, groundbreaking work, he enters into informed conversation with Augustine, Aquinas, and Barth and comes forth with a fresh, engaging celebration of the Holy Spirit. Here is adventuresome dogmatic theology at its best. Holmess vibrantly Christological, exuberantly Trinitarian engagement with the Holy Spirit is demanding, invigorating theological engagement.

Will Willimon,Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC, and United Methodist bishop, retired

Guided by such luminaries as John Webster and Kevin Vanhoozer, Reformed dogmatic theology has been powerfully revitalized in recent years. Professor Holmess exploration of the glorious mystery of the Holy Spirit is a fruit of this renewal and a most welcome fruit indeed. The interplay of the Spirit and the church is here not only exposited but also reflected in Holmess deft integration of piety and scholarship.

Matthew Levering,Perry Family Foundation Professor of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

An excellent companion for those who would like to accompany Barth and Aquinas through their rigorous and biblical accounts of the Holy Spirit.

Eugene F. Rogers Jr.,Professor of Religious Studies, The University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Ours is an age in which things spiritual have broken free from things religious or theological. Christopher Holmes, in this clear and forceful book, knits back together the spiritual and the theological, insisting on the proper priority of the triune God over all our attempts to worship, obey, know, and follow him. Holmes offers a doctrine of the Third Person anchored in a fresh vision of the Spirit as One who is Other-directed: the Holy Spirit manifests, exalts, and leads us to the Son, who is the express Image of the Father. Here is a book that begins and does not depart from Holy Scripture. To read this book is to breathe the air of one who loves theology and loves the Love that is the Eternal Gift and End of all things.

Katherine Sonderegger,William Meade Professor of Theology, Virginia Theological Seminary

SERIES EDITORS

Michael Allen, Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida, USA

Scott R. Swain, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida, USA

ADVISORY BOARD

John B. Webster, Professor of Divinity, St Marys College, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, USA

Katherine Sonderegger, Professor of Theology, Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Henri Blocher, Professor of Systematic Theology, Facult Libre de Thologie vanglique, Vaux-sur-Seine, France

ZONDERVAN EDITORIAL ADVISOR

Katya Covrett, Executive Editor, Zondervan Academic

ZONDERVAN

The Holy Spirit

Copyright 2015 by Christopher R. J. Holmes

ePub Edition August 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-49172-9

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Holy Spirit / Christopher R. J. Holmes, Michael Allen, and Scott R. Swain, general editors.

pages cm. (New studies in dogmatics)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-310-49170-5 (softcover)

1. Holy Spirit History of doctrines. I. Title.

BT119.H64 2015

231'.3 dc23

2015007229

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Micah Kandros

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 /DCI/ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Christina

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Excursus 1: An Alternative Approach to the Holy Spirit in Contemporary Theological Discourse

3. Heavenly Things

Excursus 2: Spirit Christology

7. The Spirit of Christ

10. On Theological Vision

DETAILED CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Commendations and Reservations

Conclusion

Excursus 2: Spirit Christology

Conclusion

Conclusion

New Studies in Dogmatics follows in the tradition of G. C. Berkouwers classic series, Studies in Dogmatics, in seeking to offer concise, focused treatments of major topics in dogmatic theology that fill the gap between introductory theology textbooks and advanced theological monographs. Dogmatic theology, as understood by editors and contributors to the series, is a conceptual representation of scriptural teaching about God and all things in relation to God. The source of dogmatics is Holy Scripture; its scope is the summing up of all things in Jesus Christ; its setting is the communion of the saints; and its end is the conversion, consolation, and instruction of creaturely wayfarers in the knowledge and love of the triune God until that knowledge and love is consummated in the beatific vision.

The series wagers that the way forward in constructive theology lies in a program of renewal through retrieval. This wager follows upon the judgment that much modern theology exhibits a stubborn tendency to grow not higher but to the side, to borrow Alexander Solzhenitsyns words from another context. Though modern theology continues to grow in a number of areas of technical expertise and interdisciplinary facility (especially in both the exegetical and historical domains), this growth too often displays a sideways drift rather than an upward progression in relation to theologys subject matter, scope, and source, and in fulfilling theologys end. We believe the path toward theological renewal in such a situation lies in drawing more deeply upon the resources of Holy Scripture in conversation with the churchs most trusted teachers (ancient, medieval, and modern) who have sought to fathom Christs unsearchable riches. In keeping with this belief, authors from a broad evangelical constituency will seek in this series to retrieve the riches of Scripture and tradition for constructive dogmatics. The purpose of retrieval is neither simple repetition of past theologians nor repristination of an earlier phase in church history; Christianity, at any rate, has no golden age east of Eden and short of the kingdom of God. Properly understood, retrieval is an inclusive and enlarging venture, a matter of tapping into a vital root and, in some cases, of relearning a lost grammar of theological discourse, all for the sake of equipping the church in its contemporary vocation to think and speak faithfully and fruitfully about God and Gods works.